Croaker

Croaker

White croaker, © Amadeo Bachar

At a glance

	Eco-rating	Mercury	Omega-3s
+-Atlantic croaker (beach seine)	Best	Low
More about Atlantic croaker The croaker is aptly named for its deep croaking or drumming call, thought to be associated with courtship and spawning or be a response to fear. The Atlantic croaker has a wide habitat range and usually lives in shallow coastal waters. The fish grows up to nearly 2 feet (0.6 meter) in length. Commercial Sources Atlantic croaker are found in the western North Atlantic, from Massachusetts to the northern Gulf of Mexico, excluding Florida. They may also occur in the western South Atlantic Ocean. The main source of Atlantic croaker is the United States. Capture Methods Atlantic croaker come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with gillnets and bottom trawls. Additional types of fishing gear include pound nets, haul seines and handlines.
+-Atlantic croaker (gillnet/trawl)	OK	Low
More about Atlantic croaker The croaker is aptly named for its deep croaking or drumming call, thought to be associated with courtship and spawning or be a response to fear. The Atlantic croaker has a wide habitat range and usually lives in shallow coastal waters. The fish grows up to nearly 2 feet (0.6 meter) in length. Commercial Sources Atlantic croaker are found in the western North Atlantic, from Massachusetts to the northern Gulf of Mexico, excluding Florida. They may also occur in the western South Atlantic Ocean. The main source of Atlantic croaker is the United States. Capture Methods Atlantic croaker come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with gillnets and bottom trawls. Additional types of fishing gear include pound nets, haul seines and handlines.
+-White croaker	Unrated	Moderate
More about White croaker The drummer is aptly named for its deep croaking or drumming call, thought to be associated with courtship and spawning or be a response to fear. The white croaker is a Pacific fish that grows to 1.5 feet (46 cm) maximum. Commercial Sources White croaker are found in eastern North Pacific, from Barkley Sound in British Columbia to southern Baja California in Mexico. The main source of White croaker is the United States. Capture Methods White croaker come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with handlines and nets. Additional types of fishing gear include bottom trawls.
+-Whitemouth croaker	Unrated	Low
More about Whitemouth croaker The croaker is aptly named for its deep croaking or drumming call, thought to be associated with courtship and spawning or be a response to fear. The silvery-golden whitemouth croaker lives in the Atlantic, usually in shoreline waters. It grows up to 2 feet (61 cm) in length Commercial Sources Whitemouth croaker are found in the western Atlantic, from Costa Rica to Argentina and around the Greater Antilles. The main sources of Whitemouth croaker are Brazil and Uruguay. Capture Methods Whitemouth croaker come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with bottom trawls. Additional types of fishing gear include gillnets, cast nets, beach seines and hooks-and-lines.

Recommended servings per month

	Contaminant	Men	Women	Kids 6-12	Kids 0-5
Atlantic croaker (gillnet/trawl)	Mercury	4+	4+	4+	4+
Atlantic croaker (beach seine)	Mercury	4+	4+	4+	4+
White croaker	Mercury	4+	4+	4+	4
Whitemouth croaker	Mercury	4+	4+	4+	4+

Eco details:

Croakers are relatively fast-growing, making them resilient to fishing pressure.
They are usually caught by gillnets, seines or bottom trawls. If used over sandy bottoms, these types of fishing gear do less environmental damage than those on hard bottoms.